[smelliecat]

Eeek, Jen!!!

I know you are away at the moment but give me a call as soon as you get home. As you know Lucy is an ex 29 weeker and I have a few friends that have done the NICU journey here too at the RDH.

Much love to you! xx

[Mrs_BG]

I had my baby at 34 weeks via C-section in November last year. Some tips from my experience;

* Have a list of friends & family who are available to drive you to and from the hospital while your baby is NICU/SCN. This way you can ensure you can see you baby if your DH has to go back to work or has other commitments.

* Have lots of single portion meals in the freezer so you can take them to the hospital or eat quickly when you get home. It gets very expensive eating in the hospital cafeteria and the food usually isn't any good.

* Try to prepare yourself for leaving hospital without your baby. I didn't really think about what it would be like and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

* Let the hospital staff know you would like to be involved in your babies care. Summer was 3 days old before anyone asked me if I wanted to change a nappy. Until that moment I didn't feel like a "real mum" as I had just sat there and watched other people care for my baby.

Good luck OP - I hope everything goes smoothly for you.

[Lainskii]

Sorry that you are going through all of this, it must be tough.

My dd was born at 32 weeks (spontaneous waters breaking). I only managed to get one of the steroid injections (as she was so eager to be here she was born before they could give me the second one).

She needed help breathing but was off the respirator after about 3 hours and was breathing on her own.

It took her quite a few weeks to build up a sucking reflex so she was tube fed and then progressed to bottles (and eventually the breast).

She was in the SCN nursery for about 5 weeks - mainly to gain weight (we didn't need to go to the NICU).

We are very lucky as we haven't had many problems at all, jaundice, a bit of reflux and slow weight gain (so I had to comp her feeds with formula).

Since they are planning your delivery then they will be prepared and your bubs will get the best care possible.

Lots of the normal baby shops (pumpkin patch, target etc) sell premmie stuff now. There are some websites as well, let me know if you want them and I'll try and find them.

Hope it all goes well for you.

[miraclebaby11]

Sorry to hear what you are going through Pinksurvivor. The doctors know what they are doing and I was advised by my OB that 32 weeks was the safe zone.

I was given steriods at 33+2 & 33+4 then induced at 33+6. I had been going into labour since 28 weeks and then started having complications with my diabetes so the OB decided to induce me. My induction worked however due to the size of bubba he got stuck so I had an emergency c/s.

However, DS weighed 3015g so he was a big boy and didn't need any intervention when born apart from a bottle to get his sugar level up. He was in hospital for 4 weeks as he was extremely slow at get his sucking reflex. We did have two sessions under lights for jaundice and also an ultrasound to check for any obstructions as his levels were not reducing. No reason was found for this. Jaundice is apparently common in premmie babies.

When we were in the SCN there were triplets born at 31 weeks and they were doing great. The two boys were in humidi cribs but the girl was thriving. Also there was a set of twins born at 31 weeks who went home when they were only 36 weeks.

The hardest part I found was when I got discharged and had to leave DS behind. Just prepare yourself for this as it tore my heart out.

I hope all goes well for you which I am sure it will.

[BronR]

I am so sorry you are facing this hard time.

My DD was born by planned CS at 32 weeks and is now 4 1/2.

We had steroids on board and she needed no breathing assistance, skipped NICU and went straight to SCN. Se stayed there for 6 weeks mainly due to her size. She was born at 1125 g and went home at 1.8 kg so she was very small for her gestation which was why she was delivered early ( bad/dying placenta).

Be assured that 32 weekers usually do extremely well and if there is a good reason (for your treatment) for your baby to be born then I wouldn't push for more time. Your health is really important too. I was told at about 15 weeks to aim for 32 weeks as that is considered a kind of magic number for gestation.

You have some great suggestions from other about getting ready. I also say don't worry about getting prem clothes. Target has 00000 and 000000 stuff and even my tiny chicken mostly wore this stuff. I guess your situation will be different as you will be starting treatment yourself so even more reason to get some close family or friends on board to help with getting you to and from hospital, meals etc.

I don't know if your treatment will prevent you from BF but if so think about whether you want to express just for a very short time so baby gets EBM even for a few days or if you think that will cause you more trouble as you would then need to stop. Have clear in your mind before hand what you want and tell your care givers in advance so everyone is on the same page right from the start. You don't want to have to decide right when your baby is born with all sorts of other pressures and emotions at such a hi.

Wishing you all the best and drop back here if you need any more advice or support as there are many women in this section with lots of experience in BBE.